Magnetic blocks



C- T. DORSETT MAGNETIC BLOCKS July 2, 1963 Filed Feb. 10, 1959 FIG. 6.

INVENTOR. C L AREA/CE 7." 0025577 zz/w ATrORA/EY United States Patent 03,095,663 MAGNETIC BLOCKS Clarence T. Dorsett, 1020 Holly Ave., Arcadia,Calif. Filed Feb. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 792,343 2 Claims. (CI. 46-25) Thisinvention pertains to new and improved magnetic blocks which are usefulfor both amusement and educational purposes. I

Wood blocks have been used as toys for children since almost thebeginning of recorded history. Such blocks are commonly employed tobuild various real or imaginary structures. When used in this mannerwood blocks serve to amuse children, but they also serve a moreunportant function. They serve to educate children as to fundamentalrules which must be followed in building any structures.

In order to increase the educational value of toy blocks it is known toplace upon the surfaces of such blocks various types of indicia such asletters, pictures or the u like. Theoretically a child can learn byplacing these blocks together in a given order, as in forming words, acomplete picture comprised of a plurality of smaller pictures or thelike. Frequently it is, however, difiicult for a child to assemble suchblocks together in a desired manner due to the fact that no means areprovided upon them for holding adjacent block surfaces against oneanother.

Many efforts have been made at providing toy block structures includingsuch means. With the advent of modern plastic molding techniques manytoy blocks have been manufactured so as to have special shapes which areadapted so that a surface on one block will fit into a correspondingadjacent surface on another block so as to secure the blocks together.It has also been proposed to hold adjacent toy blocks to one anotherusing bar or other magnets located within the blocks themselves. Varioustypes of snap fasteners have also been proposed for this same use.

Such prior efforts at providing blocks which can be secured togetherhave different limitations of either a utilization or a commercial type,or both. Frequently prior structures of the types indicated in thepreceding discussion have been too expensive to be commercially acceptable on a wide scale. Also, the irregular surface configuration on manyof these prior structures have limited both the play and educationalvalue of such prior blocks. This is because it is diificult if notimpossible to place indicia upon irregularly shaped surfaces and becausesuch surfaces give a definite indication as to how the blocks should beassembled.

A broad general object of this invention is to provide new and improvedblocks for use by children. More specifically it is an object of thisinvention to provide blocks using magnetic fields which serve to holdthese blocks with respect to one another in a desired configuration orpattern. A more specific object of this invention is to provide blocksof the type indicated which are relatively inexpensive to manufactureand which are easily constructed in a wide variety of difierent manners.

These and other objects of this invention as Well as many specificadvantages of it will be more fully apparent from a detailedconsideration of the remainder of this specification, including theappended claims and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGS. 1 to 6 are partial views of pairs of blocks of this invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a set of blocks of this invention.

The drawing is primarily intended so as to clearly indicate the natureof several different presently preferred forms or embodiments of thisinvention and to indicate 3,095,668 Patented July 2, 1963 how aplurality of blocks of this invention are used together. Those skilledin the art to which this invention pertains will realize that the basicfeatures of this invention as herein described may be applied tovirtually an unlimited number of different types of blocks through theexercise of normal or routine mechanical skill.

As an aid to understanding this invention it may be stated inessentially summary form that it concerns mag netic blocks, each ofwhich includes a center block matrix or number having at least oneplanar surface adapted to be located against a corresponding surface ofanother block and held against such a surface through the use of amagnetic field. Such a holding action is erected through the use ofco-acting magnetic particles on these surfaces. Preferably suchparticles are employed in groups which differ from one another in theirmagnetic properties, and, in case they are of a permanent magneticcharacter, as to their orientation.

The term block" used in this summary is employed in a broad sense todesignate any three dimensional ob ject having at least one planarsurface as indicated. Preferably such blocks have many more than onesurface of this type so that each of the blocks of this invention can beheld with respect to a plurality of other similar blocks. Suitableblocks for use with this invention have geometric shapes such as theshapes of tetrahedrons, cubes, octahedrons, dodecahedrons, icosahedrons,prisms, pyramids, etc.

Such blocks can be manufactured of any convenient non-magnetic substanceor material such as wood, polystyrene, various conventional phenolic andformaldehyde polymers and the like. They can be a solid piece of asingle material or can be erected by securing several pieces of materialto one another as through the use of an ad hesive. Such blocks can besolid or hollow as desired.

The magnetic particles used with the blocks of this invention can be ofeither of two general types; they can be of either a permanent or anon-permanent magnetic type depending upon their ability to produce amagnetic field outside of themselves. Suitable permanent magnetparticles are composed of known iron-nickel and other related alloys andvarious oxide compositions such as barium ferrite, cobalt ferrite andthe like. Suitable nonpermanent magnetic particles are composed of pureirons and various known related soft alloys, as well as many compoundssuch as manganese-zinc ferrite, nickel zinc ferrite and the like.

Because of the type of construction employed with the blocks of thisinvention such magnetic particles should be sulficiently small so thatthey can be applied to a surface together with an appropriate binderusing conventional techniques such as stenciling, silk screening,spraying or the like. In general the use of particles larger than 200mesh size, Tyler standard sieve scale, is disadvantageous because ofdifliculty in satisfactorily forming a block surface containing magneticparticles.

Such a surface of a magnetic diameter is preferably formed by coating ablock with a mixture of magnetic particles and a binder as brieflyindicated above. Such a mixture should preferably contain as high aproportion by weight of magnetic substance as it is possible to use andstill obtain a surface coating which is sulficiently strong in aphysical sense to withstand a great deal of physical abuse and abrasion.Although the relative proportions of binder and magnetic particlesdesired will vary depending upon factors such as the inherent characterof the hinder, the nature of the particles and the like, it has beenfound that as a general rule no more than two parts by weight ofparticles should be used per part by Weight of binder. The use of moremagnetic material than this will normally result in a physically weakcoating while the use of less will result in a coating which does nothave the desired, optimum magnetic qualities.

Such mixtures of magnetic materials and binder may be made in a numberof different manners similar to the manners in which conductive inks foruse in electrical devices are made. The precise method will depend uponthe nature of the binder used. If desired, of course, a mixture ofbinders can be employed.

One suitable binder for use with this invention is any type of commonsilk-screen lacquer. Mixtures of magnetic particles with such lacquerscan be formed by simple stirring or mixing" procedures. The sametechniques can also be followed with binders such as carbon solutions ofsodium silicate, solvent solution of cellulose acetate or variousacrylic resins, and other known resins capable of being applied to asurface in solution form. in case the resin-magnetic particle mixturecontains a solvent the weight of such a solvent should not be consideredin determining the amounts of resin and particles to be used in formingthe mixture.

Similar mixing procedures can also be employed where the resin beingused in the binder is in an uncatalyzcd or catalyzed liquid form. Bothmilling and other related techniques can be employed with binders suchas known epoxy resins (based on the condensation of epichlorohydrin withbis-phenol-A) and known so-called "polyester" resins such as resinsbased upon the reaction of maleic anhydride with ethylene glycol.Uncatalyzed resin binder mixtures of this type are, of course, mixedwith a known type of catalyst just prior to being applied to a surface.Any binder-magnetic particle mixture may, of course, containconventional pigments, wetting agents or the like.

Mixtures of any of the above types can be applied to the surfaces ofblocks in forming the structures of this invention in accordance withconventional techniques as by the use of a screen, a stencil, a spraygun, a brush or various other equivalents so as to create non-selfsupporting coatings. In case such a mixture should require heating orexposure to air in order to become solid and to bond to the surface of ablock appropriate conventional equipment may be used for these purposes.The magnetic coatings created in this manner may be further covered withthin layers of ink, lacquer, paint or the like after they have beenformed so as to create various indicia upon them or so as to improvetheir appearance. However, these coatings in and of themselves may bedisposed so as to present a desired configuration or appearance which ifdesired can be an indicia such as a letter or a partial or completepicture or the like.

The manner in which these coatings is used is important with thisinvention. All of the blocks of this invention have surfaces which .areadapted to be held together through the use of magnetic forces. Thesepairs of surfaces are disposed on different blocks so that each of suchpairs of surfaces is on a different block. The coating on at least oneof the surfaces of each pair of surfaces is composed of permanentmagnetic particles oriented within the coating so as to achieve aholding action in connection with the magnetic particles on the othersurface of this pair of surfaces. This type of magnetic holding actionis a direct result of the magnetic field set up by the permanentmagnetic particles, and a completion of a flux path or circuit includingthe magnetic particles on each of the surfaces of this pair.

In order to achieve such a holding action it is only necessary that atleast parts of the surfaces of each of the pairs which are adapted to bepositioned against one another are coated in the manner explained. Ifdesired the other of the surfaces of each pair of surfaces besides thesurface coated with permanent magnetic particles may be coated witheither non-permanent magnetic particles or permanent magnetic particlesoriented in such a Way as to achieve the holding action explained. Thedesired orientation of permanent magnetic particles may be caused bysubjecting these particles to a high intensity magnetic field either asthey are being placed together with a binder upon a surface or aftersuch a coating containing a binder has been created. The precise methodused will depend upon the nature of the binder employed. If desiredpermanent magnetic particles may be magnetized either before such acoating is created or after such a coating has been created.

The actual nature of this invention is best more fully explained byreferring to the accompanying drawing. In FIGS. 1 through 6 of thisdrawing there are shown various types of surfaces which are adapted tobe held together in accordance with this invention. Each of the surfacesof each of the pairs indicated in these various figures are, of course,located upon dilferent blocks of this invention.

In FIG. 1 there are shown surface coatings 10 and 12, each composed ofpermanent magnetic particles held together and held upon surfaces 14 ofblocks 16 by the use of a binder. In the coatings 1t} and 12 thepermanent magnetic particles are oriented as shown by the letters N andS so that when the blocks 16 are positioned together a holding action isachieved.

In FIG. 2 there are shown other blocks 18 having surfaces Zd, one ofwhich is provided with a permanent magnetic coating 22 in which theparticles are oriented as shown by the letters N and S in the drawing.The other surface 3 is provided with a coating 24 using nonpermnncntmagnetic particles instead of permanent magnetic particles. These twosurfaces are adapted to be held together through the use of magneticforce as previously described.

In FIG. 3 there are shown block 26 having surfaces 28 which are adaptedto be held together in the same manner. In this figure of the drawingonly part of one of the surfaces 28 is provided with a coating 30 of thesame character as the coating Iii while all of the other surface 28 isprovided with a permanent magnetic coating of the same type as thecoating 10.

In order to illustrate the fact that partial coatings may be used onboth of the surfaces of this invention which are adapted to be held withrespect to one another there are shown in FIG. 4 blocks 34 havingcoatings 36 located upon only parts of the surfaces 38 of these blockswhich are adapted to be held with respect to one another. Both of thecoatings 36 are preferably of a permanent magnetic character in whichthe permanent magnetic particles are oriented as shown by the letters Nand S.

In H6. 5 there are shown blocks 40 having surfaces 42 which are adaptedto be held together through coatings 44 and 46. The coating 44 issubstantially identical to either of the coatings 36 previouslydescribed while the coating 4.6 is of a non-permanent magnetic characterbecause of the nature of the magnetic particles disposed within it.

In FIG. 6 there are shown blocks 48 having surfaces 50 which are adaptedto be held together by means of coatings 52 and 54. These coatings aresimilar to the coatings 44 and 46, respectively, but differ from them inthat the non-permanently magnetic coating 54 covers all of the surface50 of one of the blocks 48.

Preferably the blocks of the present invention are employed together insets, and each of these blocks includes more than one planar surfaceadapted to be located and held against at least one other planar surfaceof another block by virtue of the type and orientation of the coatingson these surfaces. These sets offer a great deal in the way ofentertainment value because of the fact that they can only be securedtogether in certain specified, and frequently unexpected manners, unlessof course, the manner in which they are to be located together isindicated by various surface indicin placed upon these planar surfaces.

This type of construction is briefly indicated in FIG. 7 of the drawingsin which there are shown three different blocks 6%), 62. and 64. It willbe realized of course that more blocks than those shown in this figureare preferably employed with a set of blocks of this invention. One ofthe blocks 60 is provided with a surface 64 which is adapted to bepositioned against a surface 66 of the block 62. In order to hold thesesurfaces 64 and 66 together a magnetic coating 68 in the form of theletter C is located on the surface 64 and another magnetic coating 70 inthe form of the letter D is located upon the surface 66. Preferably thecoating 68 is of a permanent magnetic character and is oriented as shownby the letters N and S while the coating 70 may be of either anappropriately oriented permanent magnetic character or a non-permanentmagnetic character.

The block 60 also includes a surface 72 which is adapted to be heldagainst a surface 74 on a block 61. Preferably the surface 74 isprovided with a triangularly shaped coating 76 of a permanent magneticcharacter oriented as indicated in the drawing by the letters N and Swhile the surface 72 is provided with a coating 76 of a non'permanentmagnetic character and has a shape as indicated. The coating 76 may,however, be of a permanent magnetic character and be oriented so as toachieve a closed flux path with the coating 74.

Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains will realizethat virtually an unlimited number of block surface configurations canbe developed within a set of blocks of this invention and that some ofthese blocks can be coated in such a manner that they will repel certainsurfaces and attract others in accordance with the orientation ofpermanently magnetic particles. Because of the nature of this inventionit is to be considered as being limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A set of blocks, each of said blocks of said set being formed out ofa non-magnetic material, said blocks of said set having surfaces adaptedto be held against other surfaces of other blocks of said set bymagnetic force,

said surfaces also being adapted to be repelled from other surfaces ofother blocks of said set by magnetic forces, some of said surfaces beingat least partially covered with an adherent non-self supporting coatingconsisting of permanent magnetic particles sized so as to pass a 200mesh standard Tyler sieve and a nonmagnetic binder holding saidpermanent magnet particles in place, other of said surfaces being atleast partially covered with an adherent non-self supporting coatingconsisting of non-permanent magnet magnetic particles sized so as topass a 200 mesh standard Tyler sieve and a non-magnetic binder holdingsaid non-permanent magnet magnetic particles in place, said coatingscontaining not more than one part by weight of binder for each part byWeight of particles, said permanent magnet particles being orientedWithin the coating on each of said some of said surfaces so as toprovide poles concentrating magnetic flux in order to provide the forcesnecessary to hold and repel similarly coated surfaces of blocks Withinsaid set, said other of said surfaces of blocks within said set beingcapable of being held against surfaces covered with a coating includingsaid oriented permanent magnet particles.

2. A set of blocks as defined in claim 1 wherein part of said coatingsare adapted so as to represent indicia.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,669,644 Andrews May 15, 1928 2,219,074 Guillou Oct. 22, 1940 2,570,625Zimmerman Oct. 6, 1951 2,600,951 Edwards June 17, 1952 2,744,031 MummaMay 1, 1956 2,795,893 Vayo June 18, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,076,940France Apr. 28, 1954

1. A SET OF BLOCKS, EACH OF SAID BLOCKS OF SAID SET BEING FORMED OUT OFA NON-MAGNETIC MATERIAL, SAID BLOCKS OF SAID SET HAVING SURFACES ADAPTEDTO BE HELD AGAINST OTHER SURFACES OF OTHER BLOCKS OF SAID SET BYMAGNETIC FORCE, SAID SURFACES ALSO BEING ADAPTED TO BE REPELLED FROMOTHER SURFACES OF OTHER BLOCKS OF SAID SET BY MAGNETIC FORCES, SOME OFSAID SURFACES BEING AT LEAST PARTIALLY COVERED WITH AN ADHERENT NON-SELFSUPPORTING COATING CONSISTING OF PERMANENT MAGNETIC PARTICLES SIZED SOAS TO PASS A 200 MESH STANDARD TYLER SIEVE AND A NON-MAGNETIC BINDERHOLDING SAID PERMANENT MAGNET PARTICLES IN PLACE, OTHER OF SAID SURFACESBEING AT LEAST PARTIALLY COVERED WITH AN ADHERENT NON-SELF SUPPORTINGCOATING CONSISTING OF NON-PERMANENT MAGNET MAGNETIC PARTICLES SIZED SOAS TO PASS A 200 MESH